Ore-separator



, UNITED v STATES PATENT OFFICE@ JOHN C. PORTER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

ORE-SEPARATOR.v

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 317,192, dated May 5,1885.

Application med January s, rees. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JOHN C. PORTER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis, and State of Missouri, have in-` 'vented a new and useful Improvement in Ore-` tion is to provide a machine whichwill be simple in construction, light in weight, and require the least expenditure of power to operate it, and which will rapidly and effectively perform its work. This object is attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents an end view, and Fig. 2 a sectional side view, of the machine, the hopper-sieve E in each case being detached and shown above the machine. Figs. 3 and 4L represent bottom and top plan views, respectively, of the sieve C.

In the drawings, the fan-casing B forms the body of the machine, and rests upon a transverse bar,which is supported at one end by the uprights 'i and at its hopper end upon the uprights h. The uprights h t' keep the wooden sides r r from splitting, and those marked h also support the bearings of the driving-gear wheel A and pinion O, the latter being secured to the fan-shaft.

In Fig. 2 the line s g u y represents the edge of the sheet-iron lforming the casing B and one side of the hopper D. ,Between s and g the casing `is tted into grooves cut in the wooden sides r r, while from g to y it is secured to the edges of the sides r r by screws or otherwise, so as to be easily removed, should repairs be necessary. That part of the casing from s to o on one side and from x to y on the other forms the throat or air-passage. rThe fan-blades do not extend quite to the bottom of the casing, space being left between them and said casing, so that the rapidly-revolving blades may not be injured should any hard material find its way into the casing. 'The hopper D is formed on one side by the sheet-iron casing and on the other by the sheet-iron slide t, which is tted into grooves formed in the sides 4r r.

The sliderests -upon a board, m, which extends across from side to side of the machine, Vand is adjustable in order to regulate the flow of material, and is heldV after adjustment by the set-screw l1;,passing through the slide and a slot in the board m. The hopper screen E is to prevent, when used, large pieces of material from entering the machine, but would not probably be necessary where pulp or tailings are spouted from a quartz mill into the hopper. This screen is to be placed upon the sides r r, pins in said sides entering holes in the edge of said screen-frame to hold it in position.

The sieve C consistsV of a frame upon which is stretched bolting or other cloth @,with wires dlaid across its upper surface and secured in the frame. This sieve is placed over the mouth or exit of the casing B at a very slight angle, (about seven degrees,) as at Z, and is held in place by the buttons ln,'one on each side. The wires alV are placed about threeeighths of an inch apart upon the cloth, and

prevent the air-blast from the fan from rais-` ing and bagging said cloth, and also keep the gold from rolling off.

The material to be operated upon is fed onto the sieve G by the hopper D, from which it descends in a thin stream. The drivingwheel A, being set in motion by any suitable power, operates the fan-shaft through the pinion O very rapidly in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 2, and forces the air perpendicularly through the sieve C, lifting and blowing the lighter material away without disturbing the gold or other heavy material which may be on the sieve, where it continues to collect so long as material is fed from the hopper D.

Very minute particles of gold may pass through the sieve C, and collect in the bottom of the fan-,casing without being disturbed by the fan-blades.

rIhe air-blast will prevent either dust or water from entering the fan-casing through the sieve C.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

Theherein-described ore-separator,compris ing a fan, a fan-casing having its throat in a IOO substantially upright direction, a cloth sieve l blast generated by the fan and the lighter Inahaving` Wires stretched across its upper surteral blown away and the heavier retained, ro face,buttons for removably securing said sieve substantially as described. over the throat-outlet a hopper having one 5 of its sides formed by said Casing and the other l JOHN C' PORTER by a slide, a driving-gear Wheel, and apnion for operating said fan, whereby material fed upon the sieve will be separated by the air- Witnessesz CHARLEs C. LOGAN, ALBERT B. GREENE. 

